MLL Announces Week 9 Awards

BOSTON, Mass. – Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Monday its weekly award winners for the week ending July 24, 2011, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross. Rochester Rattlers attackman Ned Crotty was named as the MLL Offensive Player of the Week while Long Island Lizards goalkeeper Drew Adams earned his second straight MLL Defensive Player of the Week award.

In addition, Rochester Rattlers attackman Grant Catalino was selected as the Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week for the second time this season.

Crotty earned the first Bud Light Player of the Game honor of his career while leading the Rattlers to their second straight win, a 15-8 victory over the Denver Outlaws on Saturday night. He scored all four of his goals in the first half as the Rattlers built a commanding 9-3 lead over the Outlaws. He also contributed a pair of assists while recording his third “hat trick” of the season.

With 21 goals and 38 points, Crotty ranks second in the MLL. In addition, he is tied for the league lead with 17 assists.

Adams, who was named as the Bud Light Player of the Game for the second week in a row, made 16 saves while helping the Long Island Lizards to a 15-8 victory over the defending MLL champion Chesapeake Bayhawks on Saturday night. While holding the Bayhawks to a season-low eight goals, Adams made 10 of his 16 saves in the second half as Long Island outscored Chesapeake by 9-2 after the intermission.

Honored as the Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in his MLL career, the former Penn State goalkeeper has stopped 68.9 per cent of the shots he has faced in the last two games, including a career-high 24 saves against Boston on June 16. Adams leads the MLL with 133 saves in 10 games while playing in a league-high 529 minutes. He ranks second in the MLL with a .554 save percentage and has a 12.15 goals against average, which ranks third in the league.

Catalino recorded his second “hat trick” of the season while helping the Rattlers to their 15-8 victory over the Outlaws on Saturday night. He scored three goals, including a pair of two-point goals, and added an assist in the victory as Rochester swept the season series against Denver.

Catalino, who had been limited to just two goals in his last two games, scored two of his three goals in the first half to help Rochester build a 9-3 advantage.

With 18 points in just five games, Catalino is tied for second on the Rattlers’ scoring list. He has scored 13 goals, including three two-point goals, with two assists. He was honored as the Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week after tying a league record with nine goals against Hamilton on June 24.

The MLL season continues this week with three very important games. On Thursday night, the Lizards will host Rochester at Shuart Stadium before a pair of games on Saturday as Denver hosts Boston and the Bayhawks entertain Hamilton.